For over 19 years, Mighty Salim, alias Timothy Njuguna had been in clubs and political events entertaining the cream of the society with his tunes.
Right now, he is a bedridden, weak and deserted man in dire need of Ksh 2.5 million to get a kidney transplant. He was diagnosed with diabetes in mid-2003, and then kidney failure in 2018.
He has reportedly been undergoing dialysis twice a week at the Kenol hospital in Murang'a at a cost of Ksh 18,000 which he can hardly afford.
Mighty Salim regrets many things, including the betrayal of his friends whom he said abandoned him after his diagnosis, but the most bitter is with politicians whom he had associated with in his heydays.
"I have learned that when you are doing fine, you are important to many people. But the moment you are in distress, you are on your own. The leaders whose events I graced and performed at regarded me as their friend, but now they no longer pick my phone calls," he told the Nairobian.
He says that when he was diagnosed with kidney failure, a member of parliament from Central Kenya wrote him a fake check worth Ksh 50,000 and went underground immediately after. Others, he said, made promises to help him, but they never saw through their pledges.
"When I fell ill, I approached people I thought would come to my rescue, but that was not the case," he lamented.
He further alleged that close friends and business people whose products he marketed also cut links with him. He told the Nairobian that they left the WhatsApp groups he created, and those who remained barely make any contributions.
He also told the newspaper that of all the places he has performed over the years, only two pub owners have come to his rescue, one based in Kiambu and another in Eldoret.
Salim Mighty also claims that Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri promised him a piece of land in Subukia, Nakuru County, worth Ksh 1.5 million during the burial of his brother Salim Junior in February 2016. A promise that he says has not been honored since.
Mighty Salim is a brother to Mugithi bigwig, the late Salim Junior, Naomi Salim, Sarafina Salim, and Salim Young.
Some of his tracks include Ndutura Karimu, Githioro wa Ngurai, and Jafuleta.
